Beautiful Darkness(120)

“I was wondering precisely the same thing.” Macon started walking again, leaning heavily to one side. “But he's not an Incubus.”

“Not strictly speaking,” Liv answered.

“He's as strong as one.” I kicked at the rocks under my feet.

“Whatever. I could take him.” Link shrugged.

Ridley fell into step next to us. “He doesn't feed, Uncle M. I would have seen it.”

“Interesting.”

Liv nodded. “Very.”

“Olivia, if you don't mind —” He held out his arm to her. “Have there been any cases of hybrids on your side of the Atlantic?”

Liv slipped her shoulder underneath Macon's arm, taking my place. “Hybrids? I should hope not….”

As Liv continued along the rocks with Macon, I lagged behind. I pulled Lena's necklace out of my pocket. I let the charms roll around in my palm, but they were tangled and meaningless without her. The necklace was heavier than I imagined, or maybe it was the weight of my conscience.





We stood on a cliff above the entrance to the cave, surveying the scene. The sea cave was huge, formed completely from black volcanic rock. The moon was so low, it looked like it could drop right out of the sky. A pack of Incubuses guarded the mouth of the cave as waves crashed on the black rocks in front of them, sending shallow rushes of water across their boots.

The moonlight wasn't the only thing attracted to the cave. A host of Vexes, swirling black shadows, flowed up from the water and down from the sky. They were cycling through the cave's entrance and the opening in the ceiling, forming some kind of supernatural waterwheel. I watched as one Vex rose up from the water, a whirling shadow reflected perfectly in the sea below.

Macon pointed to their ghostly forms. “Sarafine is using them to fuel the Dark Fire.”

An army. What chance did we have? It was worse than I thought, and the possibility of saving Lena more hopeless. At least we had Macon. “What are we going to do?”

“I'm going to try to help you get inside, but from there you'll have to find Lena. You are the Wayward, after all.” Help us get inside? Was he joking?

“You're making it sound like you aren't going with us.”

Macon slid down the rock until he was sitting on the overhang. “That assumption is correct.”

I didn't try to hide my anger. “Are you kidding? You said it yourself. You think we're gonna save Lena without you — a Siren who's lost her powers, a Mortal who never had any, a librarian, and me? Against a pack of Blood Incubuses and enough Vexes to take down the Air Force? Seriously? Tell me you have some kind of a plan.”

Macon looked up at the moon. “I am going to help you, but it will be from here. Trust me, Mr. Wate. This is the way it has to be.”

I stood there staring at him. He was serious. He was going to send us in alone. “If that was supposed to be reassuring, it wasn't.”

“There is only one battle that awaits down there, and it doesn't belong to me or to your friends. It's yours, son. You're a Wayward, a Mortal with great purpose. You've been fighting as long as I've known you — the self-serving ladies of the DAR, the Disciplinary Committee, the Sixteenth Moon, even your friends. I have no doubt you will find a way.”

I had been fighting all year, but it didn't make me feel any better. Mrs. Lincoln might look like she could suck the life right out of you, but she couldn't actually do it. What waited below us was a different story.

Macon drew something out of his pocket and pressed it into my hand. “Here. This is all I have, as my recent trip was rather unexpected, and I didn't have time to pack.” I stared down at the small square of gold. It was a miniature book, held shut with a clasp. I pressed on it, and it sprang open. Inside, there was a picture of my mother, the girl from the visions. His Lila Jane.

He looked away. “It happened to be in my pocket, after all this time. Imagine that.” But the charm was worn and scratched, and I knew without a doubt it was in his pocket today because it was every day, as it had been for who knows how many years. “I believe you'll find this is an object of power for you, Ethan. It always has been for me. Let's not forget, our Lila Jane was a strong woman. She saved my life, even from the grave.”

I recognized the look on my mother's face in the photo. It was one I thought she saved for me. It was the look she gave me the first time I read the road signs out loud through the car window, before she realized I could read. It was the look she gave me when I had eaten one of Amma's buttermilk pies by myself and slept in her bed with a stomachache as fierce as Amma herself. It was the look she saved for my first day of school, my first basketball game, my first crush.

And here it was again, staring out from inside the tiny book. She wouldn't abandon me. And Macon wouldn't either. Maybe he did have some kind of plan. He had cheated death. I pushed the book into my pocket, next to Lena's necklace.

“Wait a second.” Link walked over. “I'm glad you have that little gold book and all, but you said the whole Blood pack was gonna be in there, plus Vampire Boy, and Lena's mom, and the Emperor, or whoever this Abraham guy is. And last time I checked, Han Solo wasn't around. So don't you think we need more than a little book?”

Ridley was nodding behind him. “Link's right. You may be able to save Lena, but not unless you can get to her.”